20 Years Too Late: part 2
by AlexLeaderOfTheDamned
Summary: The second part


When Nick accepted his invitation, Ellis' heart soared. He felt as though he'd just been given a marriage proposal, he was so giddy. His face broke out into a wide grin and he stepped aside to let the older man through.

"Well, come on in." he said, closing the door behind him. "Yeh'll have-tuh forgive th' children's toys lyin' all about, some-uh mah nieces an' nephews don' like pickin' up fer themselves."

He led the man through a few high arches, oblivious to the fact that he was impressed by the interior. High wooden ceilings, polished wooden floors, the walls painted a brilliant, rich shade of emerald. The moldings along the floor and ceiling were bright white, as were the window panes in the wide windows that dotted the walls. The walls themselves were covered in taped-up children's drawings and picture hangings of photographs with Ellis accompanied by any multitude of grown women and children ranging from the ages of six or seven to twenty.

They passed through a room with a plush burgundy rug before they arrived at a golden-tiled kitchen with a high white ceiling and stainless steel appliances.

"Yew wanna drink?" he asked, heading to the tall fridge to get something for himself.

It was hard not to feel a little thrill at the wide grin Ellis sported at his acceptance. Even though subconsciously he knew this wasn't a very good idea, he stepped through the door that was being held open for him and looked around, barely holding in an appreciative whistle as he surveyed the large space.

It somehow suited the hick, the clash between refined and casual. High ceilings and stunning arches plastered with family photos and childish toys and artwork. By the time they reached the kitchen, Nick was thoroughly impressed.

"Sure, what do you have?" Nick asked, more out of courtesy than an actual desire for a drink. If he declined, it would be too much like admitting he stayed solely for the company. "Seems like a big place to live in all on your own. Even with family apparently popping in and out all the time."

"Yeah, s'big." Ellis said, "But It's not really like livin' alone. Family's all gone this evenin', but likely someone'll be knockin' by mornin'."

He pulled two bottles out of the fridge and held them up. "Gawt beer an' wine. Ah dunno which you prefer, Ah myself have never been much of a wine drinker, but my mama is, so Ah always keep a bottle an' a couple fancy shmancy wine glasses around."

Nick made his way to the open fridge where Ellis stood, a chill creeping into the collar of his dress shirt, which served to cool him off a bit from the mugginess of outside still lingering on his suit. He examined the beverages presented to him and took the bottle of wine.

"Hm. Your mom has good taste," he quirked his eyebrows at the rather popular brand. He had it in stock at a number of his casinos. The finish was very smooth, and it had a sweet after taste, which might've been why Ellis' mother liked it.

He scrutinized the dark liquid sloshing around inside for a second or two and returned the bottle to it's owner's hand.

"Wouldn't want to waste it on a guy like me," he smirked, opting for the beer in Ellis' other hand instead. It didn't offer the same class, of course, but he wasn't exactly in a setting where he needed such flair.

"It ain't no waste." Ellis muttered before he could really stop himself, but quickly looked away when Nick attempted to address him for the remark. He slipped the wine back into the fridge and let the silver door swing closed as he began to fish for a bottle opener in a mostly disorganized drawer full of every kind of utensil from pasta strainers to pizza cutters to some kind of frightening-looking meat tenderizing hammer.

He eventually set his beer on the counter in order to search more thoroughly with both hands, eventually producing a triumphant "Aha!" and holding up his prize, a bright red bottle opener.

However, when he turned back to offer it to Nick, he was shocked to see the man had already un-capped his beverage. Ellis stared curiously from the open bottle to the cap lying on the counter island, and back to the bottle.

"Dude." He said, looking back down at the bottle opener in his hand. "How'd yew do that?"

"They screw off, sport." Nick snorted, trying to keep his expression from showing too much amusement as he reached forward and knocked the taller man's hat off his head by the brim.

"Naw, no way!" Ellis protested and grabbed his own bottle. "Ah gawt th' kind that yew gawtta…" after a moment of scrutinizing the cap, his scrunched-up features softened into something milder and somewhat shameful. "Oh."

The conman chuckled lightheartedly. It was an honest mistake, but having it come from the younger man was rather charming. The same dim-wittedness Nick remembered from all those years ago still remained within the southerner, despite his more prudent appearance at the age he was at.

He never truly believed the kid was stupid, just a bit careless. He easily missed the details that could save him a great deal of trouble in hindsight, but, then again, Ellis always seemed like the kind of guy who would enjoy taking neither the high road nor the low road, and simply sticking to whatever path he had created for himself.

Nick enjoyed that about him back then, and the fact that this aspect hadn't changed along with the man's tan lines was somewhat comforting.

"You know, I'm sure that bottle opener will make it a lot easier for you anyway," he teased.

Ellis screwed up his mouth for a moment. "This comin' from th' guy with skinny little noodle arms." He paused to flex one of his grapefruit-sized biceps. "Ah kin take a durn bottle cap."

Of course, in his attempt to un-screw the lid, he hissed and pulled his hand back, shaking it and rubbing his fingertips against the offending scrape that resulted. He realized he was being stared at and looked up into the bemused expression of the older man with a half-hearted scowl of his own. "S'ridged." He muttered and scooped up the bottle opener to pop open the drink.

Could it be possible for those muscles of his to have grown any bigger these past twenty years? The skin encasing those swollen arms would surely break at any moment had it not become a bit leathery from all the sun exposure. Nick did always have a thing for well toned bodies.

He couldn't help but let out a snort when Ellis ended up using the bottle opener in the long run. "I figured your hands would be all callous by now, kid, what with how long you've been running that auto shop of yours." He scanned the logo imprinted on the younger man's shirt. "'Ellis Auto', huh? I wonder if one of my guys ever took my car down there for an oil change…" he said while thoughtfully bringing the beer bottle up to his lips for a swig. Nick had been referring to the couple of errand boys he'd hired who would perform tasks for wealthy business owners like himself, unable to do much besides work during work hours.

"S'possible." Ellis grinned, taking a drink himself. "Ah considered usin' mah last name, but seein' as mah pop ain't 'round no more tuh appreciate it, Ah decided tuh jus' go with mah first name. Ah actually own th' third most affluent mechanic's shop in all-uh New Orleans. S'pose that's nawt impressive tuh someone who runs like a million casinos, though."

He leaned back on the counter with a cocky grin, lapping up a bit of the liquid that had pooled in the corner of his mouth with his tongue and watching as the older man's green eyes flicked to watch the motion for a fraction of a second. He turned for a moment in order to retrieve his hat from where Nick had knocked it onto the counter, folding it between his hands a few times before placing it back over his chestnut curls.

He suddenly found himself at a loss for any further small talk to make. The silence was quickly shifting from comfortable to awkward, and he desperately reached out to make something to talk about.

"S'not so bad," he muttered. "Yer beard, Ah mean. Ah mightuh made fun-uh it afore. But it's not so bad. Makes yeh look… dignified, Ah guess."

Nick felt his breath catch when he saw the titillating gesture Ellis' tongue had so boldly made under watchful eyes. The slight falter in his resolve was given relief when the man across from him reached for his previously discarded hat, followed by a silence that made both of them feel a tad exposed for whatever reason.

The sudden comment about his beard caught the conman off guard. He smiled at the compliment. "Thanks. I try." Another drink from his beer, this time longer. "And hey, if I had lost all conception of time, I'd never guess you were forty-three."

"Umm… I think that was a compliment." Ellis chuckled. "If yew mean mah hair, Ah get it from mah pop. He never went grey an' never lost any of his hair. At least, all th' way until he died, that is. But his pop didn't even start goin' grey 'till he was seventy-two.

He pushed off the counter and crossed the two and a half foot space between the two of them as he joined the older man in leaning against the island counter top. "If we're on th' subject of lookin' young, Ah'd say yew gawt it better'n me. Ah mean, hell, yer like ten somethin' years older than me an' yew barely lost an inch-uh hair. Still keep it slicked back, though. Tell me, has yer scalp started naturally producin' hair gel yet?"

The mechanic gave a devilish grin as he lifted his drink again, his prominent adams apple bobbing in his throat as he took a few long swigs.

As Ellis approached, Nick glued his gaze to the floor, apprehensive about what the new proximity would do to him. Pressing his lips together casually, he let his own tongue slip out to wet them, wondering when they had become so dry. He nodded in an effort to show Ellis that he was listening to what he was saying regardless of the lack of eye contact, laughing softly at all the right intervals, especially the part about how he might be a gel-producing organism.

"Well, I've always been attracted to the more clean-cut look for myself. Haven't had too many complaints either…"

Nick finally looked up and came face to face with the younger man, his usual smirk slowly fading as he studied his fellow survivor with an uncharacteristic softness. "God, you've gotten tall…"

"Tall? Psh." Ellis chuckled. "Ah'm only 6'6''. My pop was almost 6'8''. An' yew should see mah little brother. _Little_ is a gross understatement in this case. Ah think he's taller'n pop ever was."

The nearly permanent, idiosyncratic smirk quirked Ellis' rather plush lips to the right side, showing just the very tip of a pearly white incisor, just as it always had.

"Yew didn' get any taller. Guess Germans don' grow anymore after thirty."

Suddenly the bottle cap that Nick didn't realize he'd been fiddling with slipped from his grip. Taking a step forward, Ellis made a small whoop and scooped his hand forward, catching the cap before it even fell past the con man's knees. When he stood back up to show Nick and hopefully get some praise for his quick reflexes, he suddenly realized that he was standing directly in front of him with less than three inches between their bodies, one hand firmly grasping the counter beside the well-dressed man's hip, and the other grasping the bottle cap.

His adam's apple bobbed with the heavy, albeit dry, swallow that ensued.

He suddenly found himself remembering.

Remembering those nights he'd spent with Nick, with his face pillowed against his neck as they fucked in the back room of a store while Coach and Rochelle slept fitfully nearby, the hick's mouth full of the conman's throat in order to keep from making too much noise.

He suddenly remembered it all. Like a high-speed flash back, every moment they'd spent together, touching, feeling, reaching, looking for something inside of each other that they'd lost in the apocalypse, holding onto that last shred of contact that made them remember that through it all, they were still human.

All of a sudden, his ears and groin were throbbing in time as his steely blue eyes bored directly into the conman's own green orbs.

And all Nick could come up with to say was,

"I'm… Russian."

Brilliant.

The almost whisper of those words made Ellis lean in a bit more to make sure he'd heard correctly, an unexpected result on the conman's part. He didn't move away, though, the ever haunting face from his past as sincere and unyielding as the day they'd met. Nick couldn't suppress the surge of warmth vibrating through every bone in his body, like a rush of adrenaline. It wasn't long until the ability to blink seemed to have left him.

…. And It didn't look like he was the only one under this familiar spell.

As if on autopilot, Nick brought his hand up and placed his finger on the bottle cap still being held out to him by the mechanic. The pale digits made contact with Ellis' own slightly trembling ones.

A small static shock kissed the surface of their skin.

The bottle cap hit the ground with a clatter as three things happened at once.

Ellis' hand reached up behind Nick's head and took a firm hold of the back of his neck, his fingers twisting into the surprisingly pliable locks there despite the gel, and he gently jerked Nick's head into an easily accessible position while his other hand dug almost violently into the conman's hip.

The space between their bodies was closed in an instant, chest against chest, hip against hip, stomach against stomach, Ellis' knee wedged firmly between the older man's thighs. The contact was so sudden and so electrifying that it pulled a harsh gasp out of both men before the third thing happened.

Ellis crashed their lips together, the kiss igniting the old flame that both of them had reduced to cinders in the past into a once more blazing inferno. Heat jutted through their bodies in ragged spikes as Nick's back was pressed tighter against the edge of the counter, creating a dull, negligible pain compared to the lust that was reeling through him.

When Nick's tongue darted out subconsciously to lap at the mechanic's lips, Ellis caught the tip between his teeth and pulled back enough that they could open their eyes without seeing a warped vision of the other man having only one eye.

It seemed almost as if one of them was about to speak, but Ellis quickly quelled any urges that would prevent further contact with a breath-stealing kiss, his tongue moving over Nick's with expert moves that should not have come out of someone that the conman remembered to be so naïve and, for the most part, innocent.

Christ, it nearly knocked the breath out of him, like a tsunami had rolled over him in one powerful wave. The initiative Nick had taken in and out of those solitary safe rooms was now being harnessed by the man twelve years his junior as if it were old hat, but hell if he didn't enjoy it.

After recovering from the second shock he got along with the one their fingers produced earlier, Nick used the one elbow he had on the counter behind him to thrust himself into Ellis' person, his other arm grasping onto the taut biceps he'd been admiring all night. The height difference put him at a disadvantage if he ever wanted to take control of the reigns once more, but most of his motor skills had already been reduced to jelly, rendering the gambler half human, half rag doll.

He instead settled for tilting his head to the side and widening the chasm of his mouth to make more dueling room for their tongues. Perhaps he could gain the upper hand in this respect? Nick wasn't even sure if he cared at this point.

Ellis' pulse was pounding at the back of his throat, every throb a subconscious warning that this was the first step to a total relapse to the way things one were – and thus an all new heart break.

But that little pulse was outshined by the louder, and much more prominent, throbbing in his groin that shouted _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! _With each beat.

He pinned Nick even harder to the counter, slimming what possible chances the conman had of escape – as if he truly wanted to – to absolute nil as their tongues made love between their lips.

Subconsciously, Ellis ground his hips forward against Nick's creating a welcome and not altogether unfamiliar friction between their hips that had sparks lighting in their guts.

The feeling of Nick's slender, cool fingers on his bare biceps made Ellis' head swim in circles. That small contact, the soft breathiness of Nick's voice every time he managed to get any oxygen through the passionate kiss, all reminders to the mechanic that this was really happening.

Again.

'Again,' Nick thought to himself.

He was sure he wasn't the only one having his memory bank bombarded by images of their past affairs, but it all became blurred in the emotional roller coaster that threatened to unhinge himself completely from anything else that was going on around them.

His struggle for dominance was a fruitless one as he was basically tackled to the island, laid out like the feast he was most likely going to be. Their mouths never stopping working against each other, and it only fueled the swell of passion that was leaking out of every pore on their bodies. Ellis had adopted a handsome sheen of light sweat during their lip-locked frenzy, which Nick found contagious when he felt his palms start to slip on his young attacker's arms.

He eventually couldn't take it anymore and began the exciting process of loosening his own tie, the precursor to donning his birthday suit.

"Nuh-uh." Ellis spoke breathily, the first words spoken since they started to tongue each other's throats. "Leave this on."

He tugged on the deep purple silk in order to pull their lips together again, but quickly broke that in favor of tasting the rest of what was offered to him a little more than willingly.

He lapped and nipped at Nick's throat while his trembling fingers found the gambler's buttons and pulled them open, slipping him out of the suit coat and tossing it to the side where neither of them really cared about it.

Both of his hands grasped Nick's hips firmly as he closed the gap between them once more, his lips finding that secret sweet spot behind Nicks' ear that he'd always utilized in the past.

He remembered exactly how he'd found that, too. He and Nick had been hiding in a closet from the other two while they slept, cramped together and smooched face-to-face. It hadn't been one of their more comfortable – or for that matter, roomy – experiences, but nevertheless it was necessary to deal with the strange and sudden erection Nick was woken with in the middle of the night.

He'd been pressed fully against him at the time, whispering all the things he was going to do once he got down onto his knees, when his tongue decided to graze the little dip between the side of the conman's neck and the lobe of his ear, resulting in a large shiver and a healthy moan.

He couldn't help but remember the way he'd stood there, coaxing the older man to climax with naught but his hand and a very generous amount of kissing, nibbling and sucking to that one little sweet spot.

And it seemed as though it hadn't lost any of its sensitivity over the years.

Nick's shoulder instinctively rolled upward to cease the sudden jolt that had pricked the skin behind his ear, but quickly let himself relax again once the initial shock had ebbed.

Yup. Ellis hadn't forgotten about that spot on him. After discovering the sensitive area, the little twerp made good use of that weakness every time they'd hook up. At first, Nick hadn't liked being manipulated into a gooey mess of limp muscles and shivering grunts. He didn't like being manipulated, period. But, now that his brain had practically been injected with Ellis' pheromones, it was safe to say that this was the most pleasurable experience he'd had since their last romp.

In response, Nick took his blunt fingernails and started clawing at the t-shirt snug around his partner's torso, trying to get a hold on something, anything, in order to keep him from floating into the far reaches of space.

That's what it felt like, at least.

Ellis pulled back and pressed a few kisses to Nick's flushed cheeks before connecting their lips again as he pulled at the belt cinching his jeans onto his hips below his rather shameless paunch. A hot breath fanned over Nick's face as the taste of alcohol was continually swapped between their mouths. Once his belt was undone and he felt a little freer, he took a firmer hold of Nick's hips and began to grind them together once more, either unaware or not caring about the counter that was somewhat digging into Nick's lower back.

"_Niiick..._" Ellis breathed on the gambler's neck, the lust that rolled off his tongue along with the moaned word sending shivers racing up the older man's body, followed by visible trails of goose bumps on his throat, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

Ellis began to map out paths through the raised bumps with his hot tongue, one hand raising from Nick's hip to cup the back of his head as his tongue continued its work, all the way up behind the conman's ear where he captured the shell between his teeth and gave a gentle suck.

Each gyration of the southerner's pelvis was enough to drive Nick up a freaking wall, or, in this case, the kitchen counter. He could feel their rock hard erections grinding against one another between the thick fabrics of their clothing, sending a pulse of white hot pleasure through his nervous system. He hadn't been this horny in a long time and, judging by the animalistic behavior Ellis was displaying, neither had he.

If hearing his name breathed between those desirable lips Nick had been so fond of gave him this much satisfaction, he couldn't wait to see how else they'd be able to turn each other's cranks this evening.

While Ellis busied himself with the conman's ear, a sneaky hand wormed its way around the younger's backside and gave one side of his buttocks a solid grope.

Oh yes. It was still the same firm, pliable ass he remembered pinching, and slapping, and riding back in the old days.

Nick pressed downward with his hand so that their hips could roll together harder than they were before. He noticed the hat on Ellis' head slipping off and, for the second time that night, flicked it off with his fingers so that it wouldn't get in the way of their ministrations.

A moan exploded from Ellis' throat when he felt Nick's hand pull passionately at his rear, all sorts of memories flicking back into the forefront of his mind in an instant before blending into the haze of lust that was blurring his vision.

With a sudden bold move, Ellis reached down and undid the clasps holding the front of Nick's pale slacks closed, stuffing his hand down the front and taking a firm hold of the entire burning package, giving it an unforgiving squeeze coupled with another firm suck to that little sweet spot behind his ear.

"_Nick,_" he hissed again, wrapping his fingers as best he could around the conman's clothed erection. "_Christ, Nick…_"

_I've missed this. _

But he decided to leave that last part unspoken, at least for the time being.

"God…" Nick ground out between a tightly clenched jaw, his lower body immediately rising into Ellis' intruding hand, twitching with excitement. He felt his legs opening as if they had a mind of their own, allowing the southerner's bulkier form to nestle in between on the countertop.

He stretched out his neck, head lolling back into the fingers that were weaving their way into his now mussed up hair, and let out a few gaspy breaths when Ellis starting serving a double whammy of spine-arching rapture through the older man's groin and ear. The hand cradling his head yanked the conman's lips back into the mechanic's own with tongues sliding and teeth clicking in a battle to the death.

Nick was afraid that the incessant rubbing his partner was performing upon his cock would be enough set him off, but then he remembered that he was fifty-five goddamn years old now. It'd take a while for the both of them to get to the main event, but it'd all be worth it in the end. He didn't mind a little more foreplay here and there, despite the growing need attempting to turn himself inside-out.

Ellis' body was thrumming with satisfaction. He couldn't believe the fact that he was able to reduce Nick to such a state, and it made him swell with pride.

He'd gained confidence in himself over the years, that was for certain. But even so, as he initiated this, he just figured that he was going to take it from the older man just as he always had. Hell, he'd always had at least 70 pounds on the gambler, but always allowed him to take the "man's" role anyway.

The thought hadn't even occurred to him that he could take control of the situation.

Him, top Nick? It seemed impossible.

And yet, there was the older man, clinging to the counter for dear life beneath Ellis' heavy ministrations, trembling like a wet kitten.

And suddenly, he made a split-second decision that it was finally, finally his turn.

If he could drive Nick to climax before they got to the main event, it wouldn't be a problem. It wasn't as if Nick could protest and flip Ellis over to take the lead, if he'd gone at least mostly limp from orgasm.

Not that Nick's slim little self would be able to manipulate Ellis' gargantuan frame if he wanted to.

Making eye contact with Nick for a moment, they breathed in synch for a few seconds before Ellis suddenly dropped to his knees and began to fiddle with the cloth covering Nick's groin, putting his evil plan into action.

Nick didn't trust that look. Why? Because it was similar to that of the one he'd used on countless flings in the past; whenever he had his sights set on something they possessed, be it money, chips, or sex. Ellis was planning something with the conman, and he was quite anxious to know what it was.

The telltale unsheathing of his lower extremities was one hint, and the fact that Ellis had positioned himself to be face-level with his crotch… Nick's heartbeat fought to keep up with the thoughts racing through his clouded mind. His eyes went back and forth between Ellis' naturally pouty lips, still wonderfully full as ever, and his own straining erection, which was currently trying to pop out of his pants like something from Alien.

The tension there was almost unbearable, and he contemplated on asking Ellis to remove the last layer of cloth that shielded his cock from the warm breath on the mechanic's lips, but then realized that it may sound too much like begging. Nick was not a beggar, and he had no intention of showing such vulnerability to this particular partner. The only thing was that Nick wasn't the one in control this time, so he might have to get used to the feeling of not getting what he wanted, when he wanted it.

Ellis did what Nick wanted anyway, so asking would have only humiliated the man. He pulled on the hem of his underwear, sliding it down beneath the entire package, the erection bursting forward with such ferocity that it actually stung a bit when it struck Ellis across the jaw.

Pride soared through the mechanic's body again as he realized that it was in fact him who had caused such a prominent protuberance.

"Still as impressive as ever," Ellis's lips quirked into a cocky smirk as he wrapped his hand around the base of the throbbing thing. He looked over the penis that had driven him to his own climax more times than he was willing to try to count, every detail just as he imagined it. Right down to the little freckle just left of the gambler's frenulum. Ellis gave that particular spot a little nip, and when he received a surge of the older man's hips and a dark groan in return, he continued. Opening his mouth, he cautiously slid the flat of his tongue over the entire length of the underside of Nick's cock.

It never failed to get a reaction out of the conman when Ellis did that… that… whatever glorious thing he would do with his tongue to drive the man crazy. One long lick was all it took for Nick to clench up in pleasure, and the harshness of the counter underneath him seemed to melt away with the sensation.

He wanted so desperately to lift his head and watch as his junior worked his magic upon the length, but even keeping his eyes open proved to be a difficult feat. That talented pink appendage lapping in and out of those famously pink lips made all the nerves in Nick's body soar.

"Ahhh… fuck, El…" he groaned after a rather rough squeeze was administered to the older man's sac. The suction had increased as well, and it only brought Nick closer and closer to his own personal heaven.

Ellis' whole body clenched with pleasure as he heard his name pass through the conman's thin lips, just as it always used to. He lowered his mouth over the organ and gave a powerful suck at the same time he applied a tender squeeze to the older's scrotum, trying to drive him to climax as soon as possible. His own erection was begging to be released from its confines, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take before he would burst a seam.

He twisted his tongue around the length methodically, his free hand resting on Nick's hip as he relished in the way the older man's thighs trembled. He opened his blue eyes and flicked them upwards, staring through chocolate lashes directly into the gambler's own green hues as over half of the organ slipped between his lips.

He wasn't quite as practiced as he once was, but he remembered what got the older man's fire going just the same.

Nick had never been one for eye contact during sex, at least in his younger days. It was kind of awkward to stare at some stranger you were banging and would most likely never see again the next morning, but when it came to Ellis… there were hardly any words to describe how alive Nick felt when the electricity caused by their mutual gaze ignited.

The gambler smirked a bit and gave a mental shake of his head when he saw half his dick disappear into the cavern servicing him. The kid was showing off, probably trying to prove how good he still was at this ordeal, which was no lie. God, he'd missed that warmth.

It was surprising how quickly Nick's orgasm was building up. He didn't expect to come for another good minute or two, but at this rate, with the way his partner was threatening to deep throat him into oblivion, it may only take half the time. He hooked his fingers into the island's edge where his hips rested, struggling to get a handle on himself before he ended up digging his hands into the sun-bleached locks bobbing up and down in front of him.

Ellis twisted his fingers around the base of the gambler's cock with each pass of his lips, every swallow taking him a fraction of a centimeter deeper.

He remembered back when he could deep throat Nick like no problem, back in the day when he did it at least twice a week. But after twenty years, he didn't want to risk anything serious happening – or worse, embarrassing – and choke himself on the gambler's cock, effectively ruining the mood.

He would get there eventually.

That is, provided that Nick didn't cum first. Which was likely.

He relaxed his jaw and curled his lips so his teeth would avoid scraping across the over-stimulated skin, and without a lick of warning, let out a deep, rumbling moan. His voice used to be deep enough, but now that it had dropped to a sexy bass with age, the rumble in his throat – and, incidentally, around Nick's cock – vibrated all the more.

Oh, the vibrations! Nick had nearly forgotten one could do that while giving a blow job. The use of those strong vocal chords to further enhance the conman's escalating high was no less than excellent. It brought his impending climax through to the last round of this mouth-on-cock joyride, merely an inch away the final stretch.

Ellis seized the chance to finish off his partner and took in said inch he'd been lacking up until now. His lips would've touched Nick's balls if the older man didn't have such an impressive length to his erection.

Nick witnessed how the mechanic seemed to so easily engulf his cock in one more fluid motion, and their eyes met once more. It was his ultimate undoing as the orgasm sprung from his loins like a coiled up jack-in-the-box, wrenching a guttural moan from inside the conman's throat. In a last minute gesture, Nick's hands ripped away from the countertop to grasp the younger man's head in a blind action of pleasure.

Ellis didn't need to make another move once he realized that Nick had finally released his pent up fluids into the confines of his mouth. He held himself still, concentrating on the gag reflex to make sure his partner's semen didn't trigger a coughing fit.

It was felt rather than seen when Ellis starting slowly swallowing the substance that had shot into his mouth, and Nick was, for lack of a better word, floored by how flawlessly this whole thing went down after twenty years apart.

Ellis finally pulled back with a low moan, licking his lips of the familiar taste of the older man's semen. He kissed the over-sensitive tip of Nick's cock and pulled a jolt of his pale hips in response.

Just as always, Nick didn't go totally soft right away. He would, in time, if left unattended. But Ellis kissing his inner thighs made sure that the elder would not go soft. Rather, his organ ceased to sit up and beg, but the blood did not entirely leave it, putting it in a state of half-erection, and incredible sensitivity.

"Nick…" Ellis purred, pulling Nick's buttoned shirt open button by button from the bottom up, kissing his stomach and ribs and chest as he made his way up the incredibly slender frame, still dusted with hairs as it always had been, although now it was more of a salt and pepper mix of black and silver. He finally reached Nick's throat and pressed several hot, lingering kisses into the pulsing flesh.

Taking a sudden hold of Nick's wrist, he forced the elder's palm into his groin, straining ferociously against the crotch of his jeans. He made no sound other than a deep groan as he rolled his hips forward into the slim palm, and suckled that point behind Nick's ear again, hoping the gambler would get the hint of what he wanted.

Nick knew there was more to come, so he was relieved when his cock hadn't gone completely flaccid after that five star blow job. The memory of how much the kid enjoyed his dark chest hair in the aftermath of their past romps had resurfaced once his dress shirt was being opened at a teasingly slow speed.

Ellis continued his marathon of kisses all up and down the gambler's torso and neck, making Nick's previously tense position into one of relaxation and lightheadedness. He briefly wondered if the younger man could feel the fluttering pulse against the place where his throat and collar bone met, and how much he himself had enjoyed feeling the same thing when Ellis had been the one on bottom.

The moans, despite being an octave lower than they used to be, still induced a healthy dose of lust into the conman's system, especially under the guise of his name. Nick let out a small gasp when his hand covered the package that was itching to burst free from it's stronghold. The gambler wasted no time in releasing the twitching length, eager to see how it had grown along with the man it was attached to.

While Ellis had always been above average, it appeared as though every part of him grew with his bizarre mid-thirties growth spurt, including his cock.

Arched sharply upward in a gentle curve that had been present since his teens, the stiff organ measured at least eight inches long, and was nearly as thick a conventional cucumber.

He actually felt a bit sheepish when Nick's eyes focused heavily upon it, and his face flushed.

"Nick… yer starin'. Does it look funny?" he muttered, chewing his bottom lip and trying to read the wide open expression on Nick's face.

A pleased smile formed on Nick's face in response to his partner's question. Funny? More like fucking arousing. He loved how simply staring was enough to make the younger man squirm with anxiety. He didn't want to hold the silence for long, though, fearing that Ellis might become too uncomfortable and start having second thoughts about this whole rendezvous.

Nick let his voice roll off the edge of his lips, nice and slow, "Kid, the only thing I find mildly 'funny' is how the heck your gonna fit that monster in me." He wondered for a moment if the old term of endearment, "kid", was okay to say now that Ellis was standing in front of him as a full-fledged man, cock at attention and ready to plunder where it had not plundered before.

The boy had asked to take the lead a few times during their apocalyptic affairs, but to no success. After being apart for so long, Nick was just happy that they were in the same room half naked again, yet he couldn't help the lingering insecurity from showing in his glassy eyes when he confronted the mechanic about his engorged cock.

Ellis' eyes widened and his lips parted like he was about to say something, but nothing came out for several minutes.

"Ah… you… you… you're really gonna let me?" he asked breathlessly, almost afraid to ask in case Nick suddenly said he'd just been kidding.

He remembered the times he asked to top. All four times. And every time, Nick would subtly remind him that nothing feels better than taking the bottom role. He would get fondled and pushed down and teased and toyed with until all thoughts of topping flew out of his mind to be replaced with ecstasy.

And honestly, he did remember it. He remembered it all too well. He often found himself waking up in the middle of the night after a particular sort of dream that left his rear throbbing and warm.

He remembered the way it felt to be impaled, but even deeper than that – to be connected with someone, a part of someone. Raw and together.

If Nick was honestly prepared to let him do the same, Ellis could die a happy man right then and there.

_After_ the sex, of course.

Nick wasn't afraid of the pain it might cause him, or how vulnerable he'd feel during the act, although that would be a pretty new experience for him… It was mainly wondering what would come after all of this, and, for some reason, Nick didn't think this thought would be plaguing him if he were topping.

Was being on the other side of the fence always so nerve-wracking? Did Ellis' heart skip every other beat when he was in this position as well? Maybe it was because, instead of busying himself by getting his partner prepared for what was to come, he was just lying back and waiting for it to happen, leaving room for all these doubts to pile up in his mind.

So, when he heard the younger man's hesitant question, Nick forced himself to steel up and managed to answer with a hasty nod. He recalled all the times his ministrations had made his companion turn to gelatin in his arms, and told himself that if he was able to do something that gratifying, then Ellis damn well could, too.

The mechanic studied Nick's face for a moment, as if trying to tell if he was lying or not. But after a few seconds, his lips broke out into a wide grin. He stopped himself from spewing thank-yous as if he'd just gotten permission by daddy to go to the party he'd been looking forward too all week, and simply wrapped his arms around Nick's waist in order to pull him close and start kissing his neck again.

His body was flying elsewhere, on cloud nine, while his lips, teeth and tongue all worked together to make Nick weak in the knees. Cupping the back of his head with one hand, he gently caressed him while he nipped his ear, trying to wordlessly assure him that he would be alright.

He pushed Nick gently down on the counter and leaned out over him, holding his wrists with both hands and pinning him down teasingly while he ground his hips forward, rubbing the underside of his throbbing shaft against Nick's inner thigh.

"Yew better be sure 'bout this." Ellis warned gently, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "Cause once Ah gawt'cha… Ah ain't stoppin'."

And there it was. The gelatin effect, already working its magic as it had on Ellis so many years ago, except it was the older man's turn this time. Just that one rut between their hips was enough to bring Nick to half mast. Then he saw Ellis' smile, the one he'd always pictured him with whenever the boy's face popped up in his head.

It was enough. Now all Nick wanted to do was aim to please, just as Ellis was going to do. It didn't matter where the pleasure came from or how it was given. As long as they both relished it, Nick was pretty sure they'd have a jolly good time.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, sport.," he smirked. Once he was more certain with himself, it seemed the habitual nicknames were starting to break through the surface of his mind and out of his mouth. It made the both of them feel young again.

"Awesome." Ellis chuckled and turned around to grab hold of a bottle from a cabinet, un screwing the lid. "Ah heard somewheres that olive oil's real good fer yer skin, and it's a good natural lubricant. So… Ah guess we'll put that tuh th' test."

Swallowing hard, he dribbled some of the clear, greenish liquid onto his fingertips and smeared them around the first three fingers of his right hand. Looking Nick in the eye for a moment as if asking for a final confirmation – and getting it in the form a nervous, slow nod – Ellis corkscrewed his forefinger past the tight ring of muscle barring him from Nick's insides.

Nick's first thought was how weird it felt for something to be going IN his ass instead of coming OUT. He pictured aliens whenever the phrase "anal probing" came up. This was a far cry from that sort of scenario, but boy, Nick was certainly alien to the feeling!

He instinctively arched a bit so that his backside pulled away from the intrusion, trying not to let the discomfort show on his face. It didn't hurt at all, but he didn't want his first fingering to feel like a visit to his physician for a prostate exam (although he was kind of looking forward to the prostate pleasure he'd heard so much about from all the bottoms out there.) So Nick relaxed as many muscles as he could, his breath becoming slow and even, and allowed Ellis to do what he needed to do for the entry of something much larger than the man's fingers.

After a while, the sensation of Ellis' finger swirling around the first two inches of his insides was rather pleasant. The oil had warmed up quickly, and Nick found himself letting out a content sigh at how easy this whole process was turning out to be so far. The growing lust in his partner's eyes steadily fueled the gambler with more length to his own erection.

Ellis had never felt such bliss in his life. The tight throbbing in his cock was matched only by the pounding of blood in his ears.

He knew what he was looking for. Nick always seemed to be such a damn expert at finding it inside the mechanic's body, but try as he might Ellis could not seem to locate the little pleasure center.

He twisted his finger all about, flicking and pressing against every inch inside the gambler, trying desperately to find the little gland that would send him spiraling into bliss – just as it had always done for him.

He hooked his finger all about sharply, so engrossed in his search-and-destroy mission that he totally wasn't even aware of the effect all this internal wiggling about was doing to Nick, and his slowly increasing levels of pleasure.

And then, finally, the tip of his finger brushed something spongy, and judging by Nick's reaction, Ellis could only assume that he'd found what he was looking for.

It was surprising how eagerly the older man's cock was rising to the occasion since all Ellis was doing was digging around inside his ass, as if he'd lost something and was determined to find it. It was more the act of it than the small amounts of pleasure Nick was feeling that got him riled up. It was quite an intimate gesture when one was on the receiving end, and he found himself spreading his thighs a bit more to let the squirming digit have some room to expand.

"Hahh-"

Nick was mentally knocked back by the sudden sharp gasp that was pried from his lungs after Ellis' finger delved into a region of his ass that was rarely explored. His elbows and the back of his head pressed into the kitchen countertop, and the skin over his neck tightened as his jaw tilted upward, body arching once more, but this time from pleasure rather than discomfort. The feeling was hot and numb all at once, starting from the center of his gut all the way to the tail bone. It was like shooting adrenaline mixed with an aphrodisiac through the bloodstream leading to his dick. Nick wouldn't be surprised if that were the case seeing as his heart started picking up the pace with the blood rush that had hit it.

By the bright look on Ellis' face, as if he had discovered the eighth wonder of the world, Nick could safely say that the younger man was going to utilize this new phenomenon with gusto. God knows, Nick loved taking advantage of that pressure point whenever he had the kid underneath him; any man would.

Ellis leaned down and captured Nick's lips in a fiery kiss as he wiggled his finger harder, never straying far from that little point lest he lose it and have to look for it all over again. He made a mental map of exactly how deep it was, and what angle he could best get at it – plus what angles made Nick write beneath him. He could barely fathom the level of bliss that was rocketing through his body, just at the mere notion that Nick was beneath him, receiving pleasure in this intimate way.

"Nick," he murmured against the older man's lips, kissing him again and again, lathering their lips together as a distraction, shifting his wrist slightly so his second oil-drenched finger could slip in next to the first. It went in surprisingly easily, but that was to be expected with the ecstasy that was thrumming through the gambler's body, sending his muscles into spasms with periods of absolute relaxedness between.

By animalistic instinct, Nick's hips began impaling himself on those slick digits every time they slid forward. He wanted more of that pressure, that heat; it gave him a permahigh like no amount of drugs could provide. Nick didn't think it possible for his body to feel this amazing at such a constant rate, granted the pleasure was escalating bit by bit. All of this excitement couldn't be good for his aging heart, he thought with amusement.

As more fingers were added, Nick became less diffident about the thought of Ellis' swollen cock having trouble fitting. It felt like his hole was being stretched to the size of a softball, but having something shoved up his ass for the first time was sure to feel like more than it really was. The burning pain from his insides being scissored open was completely overshadowed by the sensations of his prostate gland by now, and it looked like Ellis was enjoying it just as much as he was.

"Aw, Christ, Nick. Yer lookin' mighty purty right now." Ellis drawled slowly, dragging his tongue carefully across his lower lip. His eyes slithered down Nick's torso, carving lines into his body with his burning blue irises. He arrived at Nick's cock and let a finger trail up the underside, watching it shudder with borderline carnal glee. Slicing farther, his scalding blue eyes reached the current culprit for Nick's anxious writhing.

He began to twist his wrist, screwing his fingers clockwise as he pushed in, counterclockwise as he pulled out, drawing in Nick's hissing gasps with unbridled lust, and aiming for that secret sweet spot with every plunge of his heated digits.

"Yew look like yer about ready tuh split open." Ellis' chuckle was slow, like one would hear coming from a drunk cowboy in an old western movie. He enunciated his words by wrapping his hand tightly around the protuberance bouncing on Nick's pelvis every time he thrust it downward, and pulled his hand up along its length with the vice like grip of a rattler.

"Ahhh- shit!" Nick grunted from the strong hand curled around his dick. "You keep doing that… hnng… and I will!"

As much as the older man was enjoying the finger fucking he was receiving, the tightness he felt in his balls was growing quite uncomfortable. Ellis' hand wasn't making it any easier on him in that respect, but at least the action allowed a bit of his precum to ooze its way out, giving him temporary moments of relief.

When put in a role like this, Ellis' signature grin came off as somewhat lecherous, unlike the times he bottomed. It served to turn Nick on in a quirky, seductive sort of way, and he couldn't help wanting to mold his own mouth into that confident smirk, tongue first. His partner responded eagerly, of course, and gave a few consistent squeezes from the base of his cock all the way to the head.

Nick didn't think he could hold out much longer, and just as he was about to voice this warning to Ellis, he felt the once probing fingers leave his nether regions. The absence left him cold and wanting.

"D'yew think yer ready?" Ellis questioned, watching Nick's expression shift from steady lust to sudden burning need. He grasped the base of his own cock and pushed the head against Nick's drenched, pulsing muscle to gauge a reaction. When he got a weak gasp and a subconscious push of the older man's hips downward in response, he decided it was time.

Grabbing the bottle of olive oil, he popped the cap and let the goo dribble down onto his arching cock. He had meant it to look sexy for Nick, who had arched up his neck in anticipation in order to watch, but the sudden sharp coldness of the liquid caught him by surprise and he yelped a bit, nearly dropping the bottle. He set it down on the counter, his back arching as the cold liquid slid down the underside of his cock.

Lurching forward, he grabbed the side of the counter and pumped his cock rapidly to warm up the goo.  
>"Dayum. Wasn't expectin' that." Ellis murmured breathlessly after a few moments, lifting his burning eyes to bore them into Nick's stunning verdant orbs.<p>

The way the olive oil had drooled across the length of Ellis' shaft was a treat to witness. It was almost like one of those fancy desserts you order in a high end restaurant or cafe, where the chef would take a sauce and make some intricate pattern over the expanse of the confectionary. He gave a soft laugh when he was brought out of his brief imagery by Ellis' sudden gasp at the oil's temperature. Luckily, the abrupt chill on his partner's dick hadn't shrunk the younger man's balls any more than if he hadn't displayed that bout of clumsiness.

Nick helped out with the warming process by putting his own hand on Ellis' length and rubbing it in the direction of his opening, a precursor for what was about to come.

Ellis swallowed hard and - maintaining eye contact with Nick - gave a slow nod.

"Kay," he mutterd. "Goin' for it."

He pushed his hips forward.  
>His knees nearly went weak with the pressure that was suddenly clamping around his cock with the ferocity of a hungry tiger. He had to lock them to keep them from turning to jelly and betraying him. If he fell down now, not only would his pride be damaged, so to would his hip.<p>

His eyes slammed shut instantaneously, and he gripped the edge of the counter until his knuckles went white, his face contorting into a painfully blissful expression. His hips quivered as he waited for a verbal go-ahead from his partner, not wanting to rush him into anything, but totally unwilling to open his eyes just yet.

When finally his damp lids parted, he was revealed the fact that barely the first inch of his cock had slipped inside the gambler. The thought of what would happen to him when he finally all the way inside made his mind reel.

Nick's mind, however, was reeling in an entirely different way.

If this was how the head of the mechanic's cock felt like, then how much more would he have to stretch to accommodate the rest of him?

The feeling wasn't so bad right now - judging at about two fingers worth in regards to size - but Ellis' girth was significantly bigger near the base, and that was the part Nick was worried about. He could tell the man above him was hit with a dose of ecstasy during his plunder, which wasn't too far from Nick's reaction either, albeit slightly painful. God knows, they were both lubed up enough to squeeze under a closed door, so the full penetration shouldn't take too big of a toll on the conman's body.

After a few seconds more of adjusting, Nick placed a hand on one of Ellis' tense arms and gave a curt nod. "Alright, El. Hit me with your best shot," he quipped playfully. Hopefully the younger man would get the famous 80's tune reference and not actually hit him with his "best shot" yet.

Ellis stared down at Nick skeptically. "Yew sure yew ready fer that jus' yet?" he asked incredulously, his plump lower lip captured indecisively between his teeth. When Nick gave him a slightly annoyed expression, the song suddenly smacked Ellis over the head and the tune began to play through his head. "_Oh_." He chuckled slightly, his cheeks darkening ever so slightly in his embarrassment.

Taking his right hand from the base of his cock and moving it to caress Nick's shoulder, he pushed his hips forward again. Two more inches of his slick organ slipped inside the gambler before he paused to allow them both a breather. "Aw…_shit_." Ellis' voice was cracked and shaking as he gasped, stopping for only a moment before he pushed forward again. The bliss spiking up from his pelvis totally overshadowed the slight pain caused in his forearms by the pressure of Nick's progressively tightening nails.

"Kay, we gawt past the hardest part." The hick panted, finally opening his eyes to look down at the sweat-drenched and writing form of the older man. "S'all downhill from here."

"Goddamn…" Nick gritted his teeth together, perspiring from merely forcing himself to relax. Having his ass full once more was gratifying in a way, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't come with repercussions. When in reality Ellis' cock was the size it appeared to be, having the entire length up his backdoor felt like someone was skewering him with a flag pole.

The muscles in Nick's face involuntarily seized up as he slowly got past the hardest part, literally. He felt a sense of loathing wash over him as he pierced holes into his partner's gaze, mentally cursing the mechanic for bringing this upon him. In an unconscious act of retribution, Nick's grip on Ellis' arms increased considerably, as if trying to transfer some of his pain to the younger man. Now he kind of knew how a woman in labor felt. Ellis could only muster up an apologetic look in return.

"Hold on tight, soldier." Ellis gave a sheepish smile. He thrust his hips forward, forcing the last four inches of his manhood inside the smaller male.

And, consequently, rushing the first four past that over-stimulated gland inside the gambler.

The resulting gasp and arch he got from the older man made him go weak in the knees all over again – as if the pleasure that coursed through his stomach from the pressure on his cock wasn't enough to do so.

"Jesus H Christ, you're about tuh snap me off an' swallow me whole." Ellis groaned, his head rolling back and his eyes falling blissfully closed. "H-How're yew holdin' out, tiger?"

Nick sucked in air through his teeth and panted a few times to get a hold of himself. "You should know the answer to that better than I do," he chuckled. The pain had gone up a few more notches, but that sweet spot inside of him kept the discomfort from being too noticeable. Ellis had hit him at the perfect angle, and Nick wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

Once his partner had asked if he was okay, the gambler responded with a half forced smile, still getting used to the intrusion, and thrust back into Ellis' pelvis experimentally. He heard the younger man groan at the contact and he leaned forward a bit more to place his hands on either side of Nick's neck for balance. It was a thing of beauty, it was; Ellis, doubled over in pleasure, baby blues momentarily shielded by his eyelids, and lips parted in an invitation for entry.

When Ellis opened his eyes and was met with Nick's emerald gaze, he nearly melted. Leaning down on his forearms so Nick's cock was trapped mercilessly between their stomachs, he crushed his lips into the older man's as he pulled his hips back ever so slightly, testing the waters before jerking forward again, creating more of that blissful friction between the swollen sides of his cock and Nick's abused prostate.

"_Nick,_" Ellis hissed, breaking the kiss and breathing out a sigh of ecstasy against the gambler's neck, raising goosebumps along his flesh. "_Christ_, Nick."

Nick still had enough of his senses in tact to chuckle at Ellis' obvious excitement, the kind one would feel during an _extremely_ relaxing massage. The younger man was like play-doh by now, and Nick couldn't wait to see what their love-making would mold into.

Love-making? Would he go so far as to call it that? After all, it wasn't their first time together, nor was it a tearful reunion that would lead them down the road to a story book's happily ever after... although they weren't exactly humping like rabbits either. Of course, that might change once they got a good rhythm going, which Nick was highly anticipating much to his surprise. He'd never been one to actually _want_ to get fucked into a kitchen counter top.

_First time for everything,_ he thought, nonchalantly.

After their kiss, Nick shivered at the heated breath of his lover that ghosted against his skin. The feeling went straight to his groin, piling up with the rest of the pleasure that continued building against his inner walls. At the mention of his name, Nick pressed his fingers into the sweat-sheened flesh of Ellis' shoulder blades and bucked back against the patient thrusts. The guy was keeping himself in check fairly well, but neither of them would be able to do so for very long.

The space between Ellis' lips and Nick's throat was suddenly filled with another blast of heat when the younger man gave an impatient moan, the feeling of Nick pushing back down on him making his head do a completely 360.

"Ahh… g-goddamn…" Ellis grunted, fighting a certain tension in his lower back as he pushed his hips forward again, the action a little rougher than those prior, creating a small smack between his thighs and Nick's backside.

The sound resonated through Ellis in ripples as he realized he was in fact having sex with Nick again after so many years.

He cupped one hand beneath Nick's neck, keeping his head comfortably off the cold tile of the counter, the other taking a firm hold of his hip. He was no sex expert, but he knew that he could take the edge off for the older man if he could locate his prostate. It shouldn't be _too _difficult, since Nick always managed to find his pretty goddamn easily when their roles had been switched years earlier.

Hips moving a little more forcefully now, Ellis took the initiative to pull back almost halfway before driving back into the shuddering form beneath him, sure that he must at least be grazing it by now, if not fully pressing against that little ticket to rougher sex.

Nick always enjoyed the noises produced during sex. Sure, the visual stimulation while watching porn as a kid was fine and dandy, but the sound of labored breathing, the slap of skin on skin, even the creaking of bed springs enhanced his feelings of arousal tenfold. As he and Ellis' pleasure heightened, the once soft hums and sighs escalated into deep, rumbling groans and tortured gasps, and it turned Nick on to no end.

He squeezed tightly around his partner's length once his prostate was nudged, followed by a strained moan. The gambler was a bit embarrassed by his own voice at first, which was odd since he'd never had a problem with that before. Was it because Ellis was the one he was fucking, or more accurately, Ellis was the one fucking him? For what reason should he be shy? One particularly forceful rock in to his sweet spot sent a reality-jarring bolt through his body, as if coaxing the older man to focus on the now and ask questions later.

Nick hoisted one of his legs up onto the mechanic's lower back, experimenting to see if they'd achieve deeper penetration that way. His hands slowly slid across Ellis' back until they were hooked onto his rounded shoulders. God, the way those tanned arms flexed with each and every thrust he dealt… "power" was the one word that came to Nick's mind.

A bolt of electricity shot through Ellis' body when he felt the heel of Nick's foot dig into his back. Like a rider urging his prize stallion on, he was _encouraging_ Ellis to thrust harder. It was as effective as any whip crack, and had Ellis' hips pushing forward considerably faster.

The pressure on all sides of his organ sent pulses of heat and tingling lightning up his spine to the point that he couldn't stand up straight even if he wanted too. He had to lock his knees to keep from collapsing, and stayed hunched over the man beneath him, supported on the counter beside his head with one elbow, his other hand cupped still behind the gambler's head as the speed of their sexes hitting one another finally began to produce the slapping noise that drove Nick wild.

Ellis pressed his forehead to the older man's in his bliss, his eyes shut tightly for several seconds before he managed to pry them open and observe the older man's face. Twisted and contorted with lust, red as an apple, Ellis was surprised there wasn't steam rising off his heated flesh. He pressed several kisses – cool in comparison – to his shaven cheeks and stubbled chin, a deep, grating moan forcing its way up through his throat.

He'd never imagined it could be so amazing. He'd fantasized, he'd speculated what it'd be like to have Nick beneath him, clinging to him and swallowing up his cock just like he'd always done for Nick.

But no amount of forethought or daydreaming could have possibly prepared Ellis for the ride he was experiencing right then and there; Nick bouncing on the counter top weakly from the force of his thrusts and making lusty, subdued sounds that Ellis could only describe as keening, hiccupping howls.

Nick didn't give a damn anymore. Whatever sound was pried from his throat he would let loose without a care as to who heard it. With Ellis' voice rivaling his own, all lingering shame had been blown out the window.

Each passing moment made every fiber in their bodies more taut, more constrictive, and it almost felt as if they had truly become one being; limbs locked onto the other, rocking back and forth in stiff, unified movements, like how a crew rows their ship through a storm. Nick's frame rattled against the counter top when the perpetual high tide of pleasure began flooding throughout him, spurred on by the way Ellis kept masterfully hitting his sweet spot without error. His legs had trouble staying on the younger man's back because of how slippery their skin had become from sweat. Ellis saw this and scooped up one of his partner's legs and held it to his left shoulder, giving both of them more room for deeper penetration.

"Ohhh, yeah... dammit, Ellis!"

The curse was not meant to be malicious - the exact opposite, in fact - and the mechanic knew this when he saw a rosy red flush wash over Nick's face from the neck up.

"Ohhh… ohhh, mah God, Nick," Ellis whined, pressing several kisses to the knee lifted up to his shoulder, clinging to it desperately, one arm wrapped around and holding tightly, an anchor. It kept him grounded, kept him from being too quickly swept away by the swift torrent of unending bliss.

Hearing Nick hiss his name out between growling moans made Ellis weak in the knees. His lower lip trembled as he continued to piston his hips forward, ignoring the dull pain in his lower back that was making itself more and more known as time passed.

The thrusts became a pattern, in and out with almost meticulous timing, giving Nick almost no time at all to take a breath in before it was punched right out of his chest with another deep stroke against his prostate. Ellis felt a swell of pride when he saw those tears of bliss glitter at the corner of the gambler's eyes, driving him to pound forward even harder, giving up some of the speed in order to keep the pain in his back from becoming too pronounced.

He was here. Here with Nick, again. The thought almost made him want to cry, an overwhelming upheaval of emotions suddenly surging through his already thrumming body. He let out a little sob, but within the moment it was easily written off as another moan. He was almost impressed with his ability to hold off his own tears, focusing instead on drawing more of those delicious moans out of the older man.

"M….m'nawt gunna last… much longer…" he warned the conman when he felt a familiar tightening in his gut, trying to avoid doubling over with bliss.

"Ahhh FUCK! Keep going... just keep going!" Nick cried. It had gotten to a point where any decrease of speed, any halt in Ellis' movements, would've sent the older man into agony and begging for more. The conman preferred not to beg, but he didn't think he'd have to worry about his partner stopping anytime soon with how lost he was in the moment.

Nick moved his hips upward and struggled to be in sync with Ellis' thrusts so that both of their pleasure centers could be stimulated at the same time, thus, perhaps, allowing them to orgasm at once. To be honest, he was afraid that the younger man would outlast him far beyond his own peak, although it wouldn't quite matter since he wasn't the one pitching this time around. Still, there was something to be said about finding release together, as if they fed off each others' ecstasy, which always seemed to make their climax last longer in the end.

The tingling warmth in Nick's abdomen spiked into an unbearable heat, and he figured it might be worth mentioning since Ellis had done the same. "Shit... I'm gonna cum." He directed his 'come hither' gaze at the mechanic's eyes, noticing how hard he was trying to keep them open. "C'mon, El. Go all out. I don't want you to hold back," he breathed in a rumbling voice, grabbing the mechanic's thighs that were planted on either side of his hips. It took all his willpower not to throw his head back when the punches to his prostate became feral. "Keep goin'... right there! Ohh, fuck!"

All of a sudden, Nick's body was heaved up from the counter. Ellis' arms wrapped around his waist, the conman's pelvis sitting at the very edge of the counter as the mechanic continued to pound into him.

One of the younger man's hands reached up to cup the back of Nick's head, cradling him into the curve of his own body, fingers tangling deep in dark, slick hair. He buried his face in Nick's shoulder, his own voice strangled as he climbed the rocky peak that would bring their act to fruition.

This motion had a reason behind it, not one that Nick would ever know. Ellis' tears had just begun to spill, and he would rather keel over and die right there in the middle of sex than let Nick see that he was crying. Hot salt streamed down his face as his grunts began to resemble an animal's, his fingers clutching Nick so tightly he was almost worried he'd leave bruises behind.

Nick may have been afraid at first that he'd slip right off the edge of the counter, but with the large, warm frame of the mechanic pressed against his front, and those huge arms squeezing him tightly from behind, it was clear he wasn't going anywhere.

"Nick… Nick… Nick…" Ellis chanted, pressing hot kisses to the older man's throat as his cock punched holes in the conman's weakening resolve. _Ah love you… _

"Ellis! Ah-...!"

Nick got off on people calling his name during sex, and with the way his partner was saying it time and time again like a damn mantra, he could scarcely do the same because of how rattled his senses had become. Not to mention those perfectly executed thrusts... Each slap into his backside from those tanned hips felt like the breath of life was being pumped into him. Nick latched his arms around the mechanic's neck to keep himself in place, hoping it would give their movements a more solid direction. The older man felt what seemed like Ellis' sweat drip onto his shoulder, but it was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment.

Gravity did wonders for the new position they were in, and Nick could barely control what his voice was doing anymore. It felt like he was dying, but in the most satisfying, painless way possible. He knew now that the pleasure of giving and the pleasure of receiving were two radically different feelings; both just as intense as the other, but in their own ways. Had he known this was what Ellis was experiencing in their past relations, Nick probably would've given the whole bottom thing a try (not to say topping wasn't an absolute bliss, but having the best of both worlds was ultimately better, it seemed.)

The thrum of his bloodstream climbed past the point of no return, and the tightness in his groin was finally starting to ebb away, like the pull of the ocean shore whenever a new wave was born - sucking in every last drop of water, rolling into itself, lifting up, and...

"HAHHH... FUCK, EL! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK-"

... Crashing through him with the force of a hundred Chargers.

It didn't take Ellis long after that to bask in the same high Nick was in, the muscles in his body becoming rigid aside from his constantly moving pelvis.

Stars exploded in front of Ellis' vision as he squeezed his eyes tightly, spilling himself into the shuddering conman.

He sighed wantonly as the older man contorted beneath him, legs and arms and lips and ass all pulling him in at once, clenching and closing around him, drawing him tighter. He was reminded of those times when he would hold Nick so tightly, trying to push their bodies together into one, trying to close himself around Nick. Close them in together.

Their orgasms faded slowly, sliding gently back down the same curve they'd climbed together, sweat cooling on their flesh as the heat of sex began to dwindle. Nick became aware of the aching in his thighs from clenching so tightly around the younger man, and Ellis became similarly aware of the throbbing in his back. With a gentle hoist, Nick was seated more firmly on the counter, his arms still wrapped tightly around the younger's neck.

It seemed like a tender gesture when Ellis wiped his face into the unbuttoned shirt Nick was still wearing, but in reality he was doing his best to dry the tears from his face before pulling back to look Nick in the eye.

Their eyes met for several long seconds before Ellis closed his own, knocking his forehead into the gambler's and keeping it there, synching their breaths.

It was a long, long moment before either of them spoke, but it was Ellis who broke the silence.

"Stay the night."

It wasn't a request, but it wasn't quite a command. It was more like a decision, as if Ellis had made it for him; it was a spoken fact that Nick was going to stay. As if it had already happened, and Ellis was simply reminding the older man of a promise he'd previously made.

A little warning bell went off in the back of Nick's clouded mind. He hazily directed his sights on the man above him, whose own unyielding stare was boring down on him so hard it might as well have been going straight through to the counter top.

Ellis' words had been resolute. The trauma of post-orgasm was still buzzing throughout Nick's body after the mechanic had spoken them, leaving him unable to piece back together the senses he'd lost during their kitchen copulation, at least for the moment. However, he felt the tug of reality when those serious words were backed up by an equally serious face looming over him.

Stay the night...

Had it gotten to this point already? They'd undoubtedly had a good time just now - MORE than good - but was he ready to be accepting such invitations so soon? Rather, did Nick want to?

It'd been twenty years since the two had had any contact, let alone slept with each other. Just because they had matching crow's feet and had added a few more notches in their belts didn't make what happened back then disappear. He'd let Ellis go, or, more accurately, shoved the boy away completely, without regrets, without sympathy... that's what he led himself to believe. But, dammit, if the months of heavy drinking after that told him otherwise.

Who was to say something like this wouldn't happen again? For all he knew, the tables might turn this time around, and Ellis could be the one who winds up leaving for good. Not to say the gambler didn't deserve it, but Nick wasn't sure he could take something like that, not after the punishment he'd brought upon himself so long ago. A second emotional beating wouldn't do well for his old heart.

Ellis, on the other hand - and it might've been wrong to assume these things - was still young... well, younger_er_, and he'd accomplished so much for himself since the apocalypse's end. Somehow, Nick got the feeling that everything would work out for the Georgian, with or without Nick in the picture.

An audible gulp came from Ellis' throat after a minute had passed during his and Nick's impromptu staring contest. It broke their trance, and the northerner blinked for the first time since then, refocusing his eyes so that they were taking in every tanned feature, every wrinkle, every drop of sweat still lingering on the mechanic's face. How was it possible that those eyes were still so full of the same vigor he'd known two decades ago? They were youthful, as if time had no affect on them. And, whether Nick wanted to admit it or not, they were melting his resolve faster than he'd like them to.

To be honest, as soon as Ellis had said that one simple phrase, Nick's mind had made its decision faster than his body was prepared to voice it. He could do all the over-thinking he wanted; flip through past memories, weigh consequences, worry about the future - and his answer still wouldn't waver in the slightest.

After Nick's panting had dwindled into soft breathing, the side of his mouth pulled up into a small grin. He could see Ellis' blue eyes widening a bit, hanging off each passing second before he received a proper response.

"Sure thing, Overalls."

Ellis smiled back, teeth and all. He let out a snort at the use of his old nickname. "How many times I gotta tell yew? They ain't overalls, Nick-"

"I know, I know. Coveralls," he said in a mock southern accent. Ellis shook his head, but the smile was still there. "You know me, El. I like to dick around with ya."

The younger man laughed. "Apparently."

They chuckled for a few seconds in an expanse of time that should have been awkward, but was instead filled with emotion and tenderness. Ellis pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of Nick's mouth before wrapping arms firmly around the older man's waist.

"Th' bedroom." He muttered, needing to give no further instruction before the conman was lifted off the counter like a child, one strong arm looped under his knees and the other around his back. Nick gave a small whoop before throwing his arms around the younger man's neck with a frown creasing his brow. "Don' gimme that look. S'either this or you _walk_."

With the point taken, Nick pressed his face into the mechanic's neck, drinking in the smell of his sweat and their sex, and effectively hiding the pale flush from his younger lover. He curled his toes in the air as he was lifted up the stairs, their discarded clothes still abandoned on the kitchen floor. They would have to remember to pick those up in the morning.

Nick was set down on a plush bed – Ellis'. The covers were dark green plaid, some kind of fleecy material that welcomed the slender older man's form. Ellis sat at the side of the bed, running one palm over the gambler's mussed hair and using the other to help peel off the button up that had been barely clinging, bunched around his elbows.

Leaning up to remove his own shirt a moment later, discarding it to mingle with Nick's on the bedroom floor, he slipped under the soft covers beside the older man, wrapping his muscled arms protectively around the man's hips, drawing him against the curve of his body until they fit together. Feet twined, leg hair tickled one another, Ellis' breath left soft puffs on the elder's neck.

Peaceful. Sleep came quickly.

Nick woke up the next day, feeling better than he had in years. His body temperature was just right even underneath the layers of bedding ; not too hot, not too cold. He could've stayed that way forever if it hadn't been for the sunlight bleaching through to the back of his eyelids and demanding his attention.

The older man never got up this late on a regular day, but for some reason his body clock just didn't go off at the time it usually did. Why was that? Did he drink too much last night? Maybe he'd taken some sleeping pills before bed?

He made to roll over onto his left side, facing away from the blazingly bright window… and that's when he realized why he was so thrown off this morning. A deeply imbedded pain shot up from his butt, all the way to his spine, almost as if he were having a Charley horse in his ass. He paused halfway through shifting positions and eased himself on his shoulder at a slower, more careful pace, sucking in air through his teeth with a hiss.

He'd been fucked last night.

By Ellis.

_Fuck,_ he thought. All the memories of eight hours ago came rushing back in a torrent strong enough to awaken another part of Nick that had also been resting from the strain of the night prior. He looked down at the growing tent in the bed sheets and grumbled to himself, attempting to extinguish his morning wood by grinding it a bit with his hand and trapping the organ between his legs.

It took a few more seconds for Nick to realize that the partner responsible for his perpetual erection was absent from the room. The spot where he slept had lost any warmth he'd been harboring there previously, and the conman would've started to wonder if it had all been a dream if it weren't for the unfamiliar green plaid of Ellis' duvet.

A "clank" sound echoed from downstairs that was easily identified as the sound of dishes being rattled about. It seemed the mechanic had gotten up earlier, starting his day in a normal fashion despite the recent rendezvous they'd just had not too long ago. The smell of breakfast wafted up from the stairway as if beckoning Nick to come down, which was exactly what he intended to do, pain or no pain.

The first few steps were tender, but it wasn't anything Nick couldn't handle as long as he didn't do too much sitting for the day, or however much of the day was left depending on how late he slept in. The gambler noticed that his watch was still attached to his wrist, the metal leaving pink marks in his skin where it had settled during his sleep, so he checked the time.

_9:30? I haven't slept in that long since… damn, I can't even remember._

Figuring there was no sense in brooding over the wasted hours, Nick put on the clothes he wore from last night - grateful that Ellis had brought them upstairs at some point - checked himself in the bathroom mirror for any sign of bed-head or unsightly dishevelments, and, with a slightly nervous inhale and exhale, moseyed on downstairs where Ellis was busy frying up some old-fashioned bacon and eggs.

Hearing the footfalls coming down the stairs, Ellis stiffened for a moment. A million and a half emotions flooded through him in the short time it took Nick to descend the staircase, and he nearly took off running, fearing facing him.

But he was a grown up, dammit. He could face things like this.

So he stood a little taller at the stove and flipped the bacon up into the air, catching it back in the pan.

"Decided tuh join th' world of th' livin'?" the mechanic teased, his deep voice drawling with the last remnants of sleepiness. "Ah was beginnin' tuh think Ah'd have tuh perform CPR tuh get'chu out of bed."

He was wearing a fresh tee-shirt – which also apparently didn't fit, incredibly tight across his muscled chest, straining around his arms, and of course, his gut. He offered the sleepy gambler a smile, wrinkling the corners of his eyes in the process. On his lower half he wore a rather baggy pair of black plaid sweat pants, resting rather low on his hips with a drawstring.

Looking at Nick standing there with his hair out of place and his clothing wrinkled and giving away the actions they'd been forced to perform the night prior, Ellis felt a jolt through his body. His chest tightened, but he didn't let it cause him to falter. "Yew stayin' fer breakfast? Ah've gone ahead an' made enough fer two, but don't feel obligated."

By which he meant, _For the love of God, don't leave yet._

Nick's eyes had clamped onto what the younger man was wearing first thing when he entered the kitchen, but the moment didn't last long once Ellis looked his way. The northerner met his gaze, firm and steady at first, but his resolve quickly wilted and he opted for looking at the counter tops instead... the counter tops they had sex on last night...

Well, _that_ didn't do anything to help deter the awkwardness.

"Yeah, I don't usually get up this late. Guess I was more tired than I thought," he shrugged, mildly embarrassed at the fact. When Ellis offered the man breakfast, Nick's losing battle with the smells of bacon grease and scrambled eggs won out, and he let out a soft "why not" before taking his seat at the kitchen table. There were a couple of stools at the counters as well, but how uncomfortable would it be to eat on the same surface they fucked not but a few hours ago?

Nick felt the urge to ask Ellis if he needed a hand with preparations, but refrained, afraid that scenes from yesterday's romp might flood his mind if he got too close. And so, propping his arms up on the tabletop casually, yet guardedly, the conman waited for the southerner to finish cooking and join him.

Ellis didn't say anything else as he worked, humming a few times, hissing when the grease in the pan popped once and landed on his bare arm. The smells grew more intense as Ellis drained the bacon grease into the pan next to it. Out of curiosity, Nick craned his neck to see that the mechanic had dumped the bacon grease into the scrambled eggs, which he then proceeded to stir in with a wooden spoon.

"What'chu want to drink?" He finally said after a much too long expanse of silence, dumping the eggs into one bowl and the bacon onto a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease. "Gawt orange juice, grape juice, milk, water…"

He set the plate and bowl down on the table before going to fetch the rest of the silverware, plates and cups.

"Uhh, just water, thanks." Nick gave a small appreciative smile even though he knew Ellis wouldn't see it.

The younger man grabbed two ceramic blue plates and a couple of forks, setting them on the table in a surprisingly delicate fashion. In fact, Nick noticed that everything his junior did was rather subdued this morning. He couldn't blame him, though.

The atmosphere was heavy, like a wool blanket had been draped around every surface of the house. It was hard to move, hard to breath, and even harder to unravel themselves out of this stuffy situation. Ellis was afraid that making any loud noises would shatter the cushioned silence created by this "wool blanket" in an unpleasantly jarring way, or perhaps it would be like a trigger; a popgun start-off for Nick to breach the subject of last night and what it meant for them after a new day had finally dawned.

They ate, one across from the other, both adding in a bit of estranged chit chat every few minutes as if they were throwing kindling into a dying fire. The flames of the night before were still burning bright in both their memories, but after something so brazenly powerful and overwhelming as what the two experienced, they were now starving for oxygen, or at least for some sort of clarity to it all. Neither spoke of it, though. The breakfast table was devoid of any conversation related to their affair, keeping mostly to what they were planning to do that day or what work had to be done. The itch was there, but no one had the guts to scratch it, at least not yet.

Nick finished the last of his water with a gulp and wiped his mouth via the napkin he'd been provided. Ellis had emptied his plate a minute or two before the man and began cleaning up, which the gambler promptly helped with by taking his own dishes to the sink and laying them in the shiny silver basin. Ellis let the hot water run for a bit so that it'd create shallow pools in the dishware's concave shape, then shut if off to let it soak. With nothing left to distract himself, the mechanic hesitantly turned towards Nick and let out a quiet sigh, wiping his wet hands on his pajama bottoms nervously despite there being a towel on the counter a foot away from him.

With the way Ellis had faced him full on, the conman figured he had something to say and waited with wide, attentive eyes, hands shoved loosely in his pockets. The younger man, mouth slightly open, realized he was expected to speak even though he hadn't meant to come off that way, so he decided to follow through with something anyway.

"You, ahh… you work all th' way uptown, right? Ah mean you live there too an' stuff… Ah figured since how Ah saw you yesterday that you walked down here, but now that Ah hink of it, you mighta parked somewhere? Ah kin drive you to yer car, or hell all the way uptown. Shop don't open till noon tuhday on account of it bein' Sunday an' all, so Ah don't got nothin' tuh do…" he was wringing the tight fabric of his shirt in his hands, his eyes cast down to the scabs on his knuckles as he nibbled his lower lip for a moment. "Ah only offer cause… w-well, it makes sense that you'd be a little… well, a little sore. An' if you gotta walk real far… an' Ah kin help it, Ah'druther you didn't have to. S'all."

He looked up again, his blue eyes shy and almost scared as they made contact with those sterling emerald orbs.

Nick had nearly forgotten about his car and the fact that he didn't have it here. Yesterday, he had gone with Ellis so readily - the man he hadn't seen in twenty years, his old teammate, lover, and friend - that everything else had blurred together until all he could do was live in the present instead of thinking ahead like he often did. It was like, as soon as he saw the southerner, his mind was wiped clean. He briefly thought of those devices from Men in Black before answering the mechanic with a sheepish nod.

"Yeah, you didn't exactly make that easy for me," he joked. He admired Ellis' blush before continuing. "I'm parked at the mini-mall near a bookstore and that ice cream shop, "Anne's-something-something-icecream" or whatever... I don't really know the area that well."

Ellis' face lit up for second when he heard the familiar name. "Oh, yeah! "Anne's Southern Bell Ice Cream". They've got the biggest selection of homemade ice cream in town, man. Yew should go there if ya haven't already."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nick smiled. "But yeah, if you don't mind driving me all the way there, then that'd probably be a big help."

"Oh, sure, sure! No trouble at all!" The younger man replied, a bit embarrassed that he had gotten off topic for a minute there. "Jus' lemme go put on some jeans an' I'll be right back, m'kay? You need anythin'?"

Nick looked down at his mildly wrinkled clothes and shook his head. "Naw. I think I'm covered, El," he chuckled.

"Uh, r-right. Okay! I'll be quick." The man, now turned boy, shuffled backwards as he was talking until he accidentally hit the door frame leading out of the kitchen. With a yelp, he righted himself, gave his classic "oops" grin, and fled the scene to change upstairs in his bedroom.

Nick heard the drum of footsteps pounding up the stairs at a constant rate that could've matched a metronome's pace. He almost laughed out loud, though, when the rhythm was interrupted by a fumbling thump that was no doubt Ellis slipping up on one of the steps.

_Just as clumsy as ever,_ Nick thought, fondly.

Five minutes later and Ellis was bounding down the stairs, skipping every other step as he went, and met his fellow veteran at the front door. The fresh pair of denims he wore fit snugly around his hips and thighs, and there seemed to be a number of holes and tears around the knees. It didn't surprise Nick all that much, truthfully. The kid was never really good at taking care of his belongings, except for that old hat of his.

"Awright! We ready to go?" He asked with a smidge more enthusiasm than he had earlier this morning, pulling his cap down over his curls.

"Lead the way," Nick gestured towards the door with an extended palm, a light smirk visible on his face.

Ellis' truck wasn't anything special. It was red – or rather, looked like it had once been red, but had since faded into a ruddier, rusty hue – and was set on four large tires that looked brand new. The shock was clearly up to date, and the insides were all in pristine condition. It was as if Ellis had kept every part of the vehicle in perfect condition _except_ the outside.

Pulling his seatbelt over his body, he looked over to make sure Nick could function the somewhat old fashioned buckle. He laughed when he saw, as predicted, the older man was fumbling with the device. Unclicking his own belt, he leaned across the smaller man in order to help. His nose was instantly filled with the aroma of the man's cologne, as well as his own natural musk, his laundry detergent, his hair products, everything swirling and mixing together and intoxicating the mechanic until he found his fingers fumbling with the little buckle too.

Finally managing to snap it into place, he pulled back to his own seat, his cheeks lit up brighter than a Fourth of July night sky.

Clearing his throat loudly and deliberately, he jammed his key into the ignition and turned the engine over.

The drive wasn't very long, perhaps fifteen minutes. But it would have been one hell of a walk for the ex-conman, had Ellis not offered to drive him. They didn't speak much of anything, only a few words exchanged between them when Ellis asked for specifications on the exact direction he was supposed to go.

When finally they pulled into the parking lot Nick pointed out, and drove up beside the car that Nick claimed was his own, Ellis' eyes widened and his lips parted as though he'd just seen a ghost.

"Yew… have… that's… that's a… HOLY _SHIT_ MAN!"

Leaping out of his seat so fast he almost forgot to unbuckle his seat belt, his feet hit the ground before Nick's thumb could even release his own seat belt. The engine still running and the door wide open, Ellis all but threw himself on the hood of Nick's car.

"Holy Christ man, this's a 1963 Maserati thirty-five hundred! Where did'yew…? How'd yew get'cher hands on one-uh _these_, man! Holy _SHIT!_ This is _beautiful!_" running his hands along the perfectly polished, jet black hood, Ellis mumbled a few words incoherently before peeking into the window to look at the white leather interior. He wiggled a little in excitement before looking back over his shoulder at the gambler, who was just stepping out of the truck with a bemused expression on his face. "Dude, Ah've _never_ seen one-uh these in such good condition! Granted Ah've only seen two others in mah life, but they were both in real bad condition. God_damn_, where'd yew even _find_ one-uh these? An' _why_ don'tchew have th' top down man, that's practically a sin!"

Nick laughed at the younger man's statement and answered in a mock-smug voice, "Let's just say I got connections. BIG connections. Had her custom made and ready to ride a few years back. As for the hood, ehh... I just like to have it up as a precaution, you know, in case the weather decides to sour at the most inopportune time; also keeps the bugs out."

Ellis shook his head, still ogling the car like a wolf feasting it's eyes on it's meal. "Those are the lamest excuses Ah've ever heard, Nick, but it's _yew_, after all so I can forgive ya."

"Ha! Gee, thanks." Nick rolled his eyes.

Ellis gazed into the driver side window once more, his excited reflection looking back at him, but he hardly noticed it. "GodDAMN, if Ah could work under the hood of this beaut, my life would be _complete_, brother..."

"Well, if by the million in one chance that I somehow manage to bang her up, I'll be sure to come to you first."

"Ya mean it? Ooh, baby, that would be AWEsome! I mean, I'm hopin' somethin' like that doesn't happen, but at the same time... shit, that'd be sweeeet."

"Mm-hm. Now, are you gonna let me _in_ my car, or do I have to pry you off with a crowbar?" he asked while standing behind the mechanic who was practically plastered to his door.

"Oh, yeah! Heh heh, sorry 'bout that." Anybody could tell from his face that he wasn't actually that sorry, though. He scooted out of the way and watched Nick pull a small keyring out of his pocket that held the golden ticket to his Maserati. The door opened with a satisfying click, and the gambler was about to get in before he suddenly stopped and turned his head to look Ellis in the eyes, a thoughtful look crossing his features.

The Georgian wanted to reach out, to grab a handful of his senior's expensive suit, keep him rooted there, maybe forever. The full impact of saying "goodbye" hit him like a pillowcase full of lead, and he couldn't get the bitter taste out of his maw from being so agitated. He wanted to open his mouth and tell Nick what he'd been wanting to say since the sun came up today, but his saliva, thick from slight dehydration, was like a glue that kept his jaw from moving.

He couldn't. He just couldn't. But now might be the only time! Nick's leaving, and who knows when he'd see him again. It's now or never. But what if he was rejected? Could he handle something like that again? There was a 50/50 chance that this could all blow up in his face, but the risk of losing Nick again was far greater.

_Oh gawd, what should ah do what should ah do what should ah-_

"Do you wanna have lunch sometime?"

Ellis' rampant thoughts stopped dead in its tracks at the abrupt inquiry.

He opened his mouth to try to speak, but nothing came out. His lips opened and closed several times in his pursuit of a sentence, but nothing came out.

Nick was asking to see him again.

_Nick_ was asking to see him again.

He was taking the initiative, he actually _wanted_ to see Ellis again.

He still cared.

The rush of emotion that filled Ellis made him totally forget the English language.

"A nod of the head will do." Nick snorted after a moment of watching the hick's ambivalent expression. Ellis nearly got whiplash he nodded so quickly. "Excellent. Now, I'm kind of in a rush to get back to where I need to be, but I'll look up your shop in a phone book and give you a ring."

Leaning forward and settling a tentative kiss on the corner of the mechanic's mouth, he ducked inside his car, and a moment later, pulled out of the parking lot.

Ellis raised his hand to his lips in order to feel the place where Nick's lips had touched, a faint warmness still spreading from the point of contact. His lips slowly pulled up into a smile at the gesture. So shy, so unlike Nick, to bid him farewell with such a simple, tender gesture. As if the passion of the night previous hadn't happened at all, and they were back to first date jitters.

He collapsed backwards against the car that had been beside Nick's, pulling the brim of his cap down to hide his blushing, grinning face from the morning sun.


End file.
